Scrimshander faces smuggling charges

Friday

May 2, 2008 at 2:00 AM

By Jason Graziadei I&M Assistant Editor

A Nantucket scrim-shander alleged to have illegally imported sperm-whale teeth and elephant ivory from overseas and sold it on the island was indicted in a Boston federal court last week on numerous charges including smuggling, making false statements to federal agents and conspiracy.

Charles Manghis, 53, of 44 Somerset Lane, was taken into custody by federal agents and Nantucket police at his home just after 6 a.m. last Thursday, and following his arraignment in federal court, posted a $25,000 bond and was released.

Manghis has been a master carver at Nina Hellman Antiques on Centre Street for years, where he offered scrimshaw demonstrations and displayed his work. Manghis has also carved presidential seals for both Presidents Bush and John F. Kennedy Jr.

The federal grand jury indictment describes numerous deals between Manghis and a Ukrainian man, Andriy Mikhalyov, in which the two would communicate via e-mails, and arrange for Mikhalyov to send elephant ivory and sperm whale teeth from Ukraine to Manghis through a middle-man in California. The indictment alleges that Manghis arranged to have the sperm whale teeth and ivory imported into the United States and sold the items both on Nantucket and on eBay in violation of the Endangered Species Act and a multinational treaty called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES.

The treaty allows only limited international trade in the bones of endangered species such as sperm whales, and only if a specimen is lawfully acquired with valid import and foreign export permits.

According to the indictment, Manghis “did fraudulently and knowingly import and bring into the United States merchandise, to wit: wildlife . . . contrary to law, in that said merchandise was traded contrary to CITES, was imported in violation of the ESA and was not declared to any official of the United States government upon its entry into the United States.”

Between 2002 and 2005, Manghis illegally imported a total of 31 sperm whale teeth and four pieces of elephant ivory from Mikhalyov, the indictment states.

Mikhalyov was also indicted by the grand jury, but he has not yet been apprehended.

If convicted on the 11 charges contained within the indictment, Manghis could face up to 25 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Calls to both Manghis and his attorney were not returned this week.

Scrimshanding, which involves the carving and engraving of bones, typically those of marine mammals such as sperm whales, originated on whale ships in the 1800s. The scrimshaw created by Nantucket whalers became well-known for the elaborate pictures and lettering they carved into the teeth of sperm whales, and the Nantucket Whaling Museum has one of the most extensive collections of scrimshaw in the world.

Several Nantucket scrimshanders, as well as representatives of the Nantucket Historical Association, declined to be interviewed for this story, but Nina Hellman, the owner of the store where Manghis offered his scrimshaw demonstrations, said she doubted the charges against him were true.

“I believe that Mr. Manghis cannot be a part of this, and that he has legally bought any ivory he has,” Hellman said. “I know he’s very careful about where he buys his material.” The federal laws created by the Endangered Species Act, as well as the CITES treaty, prohibit the importation of sperm whale teeth and ivory in order to discourage the market for such items and the killing of those endangered species.

Reputable scrimshanders rely on the legal supply of whale and elephant ivory stockpiled by collectors and importers prior to the ban on the harvest of whale teeth and elephant tusks in the 1970s.

“It’s good to see these types of arrests, it discourages the killing and exploitation of endangered species like the sperm whale,” Lieutenant Detective Jerry Adams said. “There are far too few left.”

Nantucket Environmental Police Sgt. Dean Belanger, who also assisted in the investigation, said it was an international smuggling case, and that Manghis’ home had been searched by authorities on more than one occasion in recent years. Belanger added that Manghis was aware of the laws regarding endangered species such as whales and elephants.

“He was well-versed in those laws,” Belanger said. “He tried to hide a few things (from investigators) but he got caught.”

A number of federal agencies were involved in the case, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and the U.S. District Attorney in Boston.

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